HYDERABAD: Douglas MacArthur, the famous American army commander, had said, “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.” This sums up the life and legacy of H J Dora.
Police officers who were in the field in the 1990s and 2000s combating the menace of Left-wing extremism, popularly known as Naxalism, would recall the dynamics of leadership of Dora, who became a legendary police officer not only of undivided Andhra Pradesh but of the country.
The initial spread of Naxalism was from Srikakulam (inspired by the Spring Thunder of Bengal), where officers like BN Yugandhar, IAS (father of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella), brought about a new perspective in government policies towards Naxalism, to North Telangana where many select target killings were carried out, including the murder of Hayagrivachary, close friend of the then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao. It engulfed the districts of south Telangana where many police stations were attacked and weapons looted, and found a haven in the Nallamalla.
The circle became complete when it again infested the AOB (Andhra–Odisha Border). The swath of Naxal spread was mythically represented by the ultra ideologues as from Tirupati to Pashupati (Pashupatinath in Nepal).
Dora and his team saw the spread and fought the menace in every district and police station limits. For the first time, Naxalism was addressed as something beyond a law and order issue. Dora gets the credit for convincing the then political dispensation to adopt a multi-pronged approach, as a result of which every vertical of the administration was involved. A Hot-to-Hot and Cold-to-Cold approach took shape.
The armed dalams had to be neutralised, but those coming forward to surrender and join the mainstream were encouraged with the best rehabilitation scheme in the country. Many states followed the undivided Andhra model in this regard.
During a visit to Guntur, where I was posted as the Superintendent of Police, he observed: “A man is not finished when he is defeated; he is finished when he quits.” When I asked him why it had taken so long for us to contain Naxalism, he said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Dora took over as DGP at a crucial time
I worked under DGP HJ Dora as SP Prakasham and SP Guntur. This was the phase when Naxalism was active in the coastal areas of undivided Andhra Pradesh, where serious incidents took place such as the killing of Congress MP Magunta Subbarami Reddy, the narrow escape of former chief minister N Janardhan Reddy in a landmine attack, the killing of many public representatives, and an attempt on the then Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu of undivided Andhra Pradesh at Alipiri in Chittoor, in which a near-perfect line-up of a series of IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) were detonated simultaneously.
Chandrababu Naidu was the first chief minister to take a very firm stand on the issue of Naxalism. IPS officer and my batchmate, Umesh Chandra, was killed in the heart of the city at SR Nagar junction. I remember attending the IPS officers’ meeting at the DGP office the next day. The gloom in the air was unnerving.
In 1992, when I joined my first posting as ASP Jangaon, there was fear in the air and in the working ethos of the district and the entire region of Telangana. Policemen were going to police stations not in government jeeps but in tractors, RTC buses and lorries for long distances. For short distances, tactical walking, following the principles of field craft and tactics, was the only survival tool.
The killing of the serving SP Pardesi Naidu at Kolhapur in Mahbubnagar had proved the Maoist dictum of “kill one and terrorise a thousand”. I had been posted as OSD Mahbubnagar immediately after that, and the debris of the landmine attack which had killed the SP and 13 more officers was still there at Somasila when I visited the scene of the blast.
Dora took the reins of the state at this time. His task was multiple: building confidence among the rank and file of the police force and convincing the political leadership that the strategy and tactics adopted by us would deliver in the long run, though there might be initial setbacks in the form of sensational incidents and attacks on police and paramilitary forces. I remember that as ASP I had one company of BSF at my disposal at Jangaon. A district like Warangal had 12 companies of paramilitary force, now called the CPMF.
What made Dora a great leader? The term hands-on can be epitomised in him. He was always available on the phone even to a junior police officer, heard everything in detail and gave a plan of action immediately. He devised a system of rewards and encouragement which was unconventional. It reminded us of Sun Tzu, who writes in The Art of War that rewards should be such that they are not found in any manual or book.
Police officers in undivided Andhra Pradesh were sent abroad for training as a reward and also as an incentive to work hard. From the organisation’s perspective, it also gave them exposure to the best global practices. Accelerated promotions and cash rewards were incentivised for contributions in combating Naxalism. A generation of police officers grew up in the hierarchy getting multiple out-of-turn promotions.
In the field of conventional crimes, those were the times when organised criminal gangs were active in many parts of undivided Andhra Pradesh. Special courts were created to club criminal cases of multiple districts into one court for speedy trial and conviction of these notorious gangs. Some of the Parthy gangs and notorious dacoits of various settlement areas were convicted in record time.
Within five years, the state was almost free from these notorious gangs. For the first time in history, a Chief Justice of the High Court, Justice Prabha Shanker Mishra, visited the DGP office and addressed all the Superintendents of Police and senior officers. It paved the way for a better understanding of all wings of the criminal justice system by all stakeholders. Subsequently, I had the honour of hosting Justice Mishra at Guntur, where he had a detailed interaction with all the police officers of the district.
The third innings of mine under HJ Dora was when he joined as Director General of CISF in Delhi. I was already working as Group Commandant CISF. In a short span of time in CISF, before he went to join the Central Vigilance Commission, Dora left his imprint on this CPMF as well. This was a time when CISF was almost getting wound up and there was a discussion to merge it with CRPF and BSF. The efforts of Trinath Mishra and Dora gave a new lease of life to CISF by persuading the Union government to give the responsibility of airport security to CISF.
I witnessed the initial challenges each airport faced in the transition from local police to CISF. The local police were highly reluctant to give away the responsibility to a Central force. Many state governments were also reluctant. It was perhaps the impact of the Kandahar Air India plane hijacking that made it possible for a specialised unit within the CISF to develop and take responsibility for aviation security in India.
I remember making a series of PowerPoint presentations before Dora at his Delhi office after my visits to various airports such as New Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Patna, Ranchi, Gaya, Guwahati, Bagdogra and Hyderabad. The first SOPs of various verticals of airport security developed during these initial years of CISF induction.
Dora continued sharing his expertise even after his retirement when he was associated with GMR Group, a leading player in the aviation sector.
A police officer’s contribution cannot be assessed by his own conduct alone. Meenakshi Dora brought with her an enormous wealth of affection and a family connection for the police fraternity. I remember the long walk on the beach of Chirala with Dora and Meenakshi Dora.
My wife Vasundhara, who had just joined office after her maternity leave, was all praise for the tips from Meenakshi Dora on work–life balance and the nuances a lady should know as the wife of a senior police officer. Being a working woman herself, my wife kept talking about this visit for long.
On behalf of the police fraternity of India and on behalf of every rank and file of the uniformed forces, I take this opportunity to pay our tribute to the legendary police officer, Sri HJ Dora.
Anjani Kumar, Former Director General of Police
Longest serving DGP of undivided AP dies at 83
Hyderabad: Former DGP of undivided Andhra Pradesh HJ Dora passed away on Friday while undergoing treatment at the NIMS. He was 83. Dora was among the longest-serving DGPs, holding the post from November 1996 to February 2002.
A 1965-batch IPS officer, Dora served nearly four decades in the police service. Born in 1943 in Srikakulam district, he worked in several districts, and also served as the state’s Intelligence chief. He assumed charge as DGP when Naxalism was at its peak.
Dora served as vice-chairman and MD of APSRTC between 1989 and 1992. He later served as CISF DG and as Commissioner, Central Vigilance Commission. Telangana and AP Chief Ministers A Revanth Reddy and N Chandrababu Naidu expressed deep sorrow over his demise.
Telangana DGP B Shivadhar Reddy said Dora brought revolutionary changes in policing. V C Sajjanar, Hyderabad Police Commissioner, remembered Dora as his first police boss and mentor. Dora wrote his autobiography “Journey Through Turbulent Times” and another book, “NTR Tho Nenu,” about his experiences with NT Rama Rao.